How Burglars Got Western Springs Woman To Let Them Inside

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — A Western Springs woman answered the door late last month to find two men claiming to be water utility workers, according to a police report. One of them said they wanted to check her running water.

Western Springs Patch obtained the report through a public records request. The incident happened mid-afternoon Oct. 25 in the 3800 block of Ellington Avenue.

According to the report, the woman told officers she spoke to the men from behind a locked storm door. One of the men backed away out of view.

After speaking with one of the men at the door for a few minutes, she invited him in to test the water, police said. Once in the kitchen, the man asked for a glass to test the water. He then tested it and told her the color didn't look right, the report said.

A few moments later, the man left the house and got into a newer gray car, possibly a Honda Pilot SUV, which was parked in the parking pad in front of the house, police said. The two men left east on Ogden Avenue.

The report did not indicate when the woman became suspicious, but she apparently called police soon afterward. She also alerted her daughter, who showed up.

Police walked through the house with the woman. She said the bedrooms and an office upstairs had not been left how she remembered. In one bedroom, the closet had been opened and the light left on. The closet in another was also opened, with luggage strewn about. A dresser had drawers open, and small jewelry boxes had been rummaged through.

In the kitchen, the woman's purse was on the table, with $200 in cash taken, according to the report. She said an unknown number of earrings and costume jewelry were also taken from upstairs.

The man she took into the kitchen was described as Hispanic, 5 feet, 7 inches, having an average build and olive complexion, and wearing a traffic vest with a yellow stripe down the torso. The other man was described as Hispanic, 6 feet and wearing a similar vest.

The woman told police she was limited in her descriptions because her eyesight wasn't good.

A similar burglary happened in Western Springs in July, five blocks away from the one on Ellington. The crime is known as a ruse burglary in which one person distracts the homeowner while another enters the house and commits theft.